SWMCB

Proper waste disposal is now more complex than ever. In response, the Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board of Minneapolis and its surrounding communities created a web site to function as a centralized resource for disposal information.

However, the site had no awareness by the public. Even worse, GreenGuardian.com faced public apathy over the need for safe disposal of hazardous household waste.

Despite their whimsical Green Guardian character, messages had to be no-nonsense and brought down to the personal level, instead of the usual soft appeals to environmental altruism.

In a series of newspaper ads, web banner ads and direct mail postcards designed to tackle specific disposal-related issues and drive traffic to the web site, I used provocative headlines backed by alarming (but true) facts about excess waste and its health risks.

This approach has proven quite effective. In fact, during a mercury thermometer exchange promotion, our ad increased web site visits by 78% and enough mercury thermometers were exchanged to completely deplete the client’s supply of digital thermometers.